Euro-2024 Qualification News

As the road to Euro-2024 unfolds with unexpected twists and dramatic turns, enthusiasts and analysts alike turn their eyes to the latest updates in the qualification rounds. For those looking to delve deeper into the nuances of these matches and perhaps engage in informed betting, a comprehensive resource like bookmaker-ratings.ru offers invaluable insights and tips. Now, let's dive into the recent matches that have set the stage for an exhilarating tournament: Serbia's nail-biting draw, Belgium's commanding performance, Spain's bittersweet victory, and Portugal's historic run.

An easy draw for Serbia turned into the hardest exit

Serbia hosted Bulgaria - a draw would have been enough to qualify for the Euros, we could have even lost, but for the Montenegrins not to win in Hungary. Milos Veljkovic scored in the 17th minute, but after the break, the Serbs unexpectedly conceded from Georgi Rusev and Kiril Despodov. Suddenly it was 1:2 and the Serbs were in a great slump as Montenegro won the first half in Hungary. Srdjan Babic's header in the 82nd minute calmed things down. 2:2 was enough, and the Serbs will play at the Euros for the first time since 2000 - since the Yugoslavia national team.

Group results: Hungary is the winner and together with Serbia goes to the Euros. Montenegro, Lithuania, and Bulgaria finished their performances - even theoretically they will not qualify for the group.

Lukaku helped Belgium win the group with four goals

Belgium had to beat Azerbaijan at home in Group F to become the first team to win the group, and they did it easily. 4-0 already in the first half - all goals were scored by Romelu Lukaku, who scored a hat trick in 20 minutes, half of them with his head. Now Lukaku has 83 goals in 113 games for Belgium, only Cristiano Ronaldo (128) and Ferenc Puskás (84) scored more often in the history of European national teams. And in 2023, Romelu scored 15 for Belgium in nine matches.

In the end, Leandro Trossard closed the shot - 5:0. The visitors played a half and a half with ten men without the suspended Eddie Israfilov. Belgium with Domenico Tedesco is expectedly the first, out of seven matches played until the end, it has not defeated only Austria at home (one more was not finished - against the Swedes), and the goal difference is also good - 22:4.

Group results: Belgium is the winner, Austria is also going to the Euros. The Swedes will definitely not qualify for Germany, while Azerbaijan and Estonia still have a chance to qualify.

Spain lost Gavi in an unnecessary match

The Spaniards were spoiled by the substitution of Gavi due to injury in the middle of the first half - the Barcelona midfielder has a suspected cruciate ligament injury. Ferran Torres headed in Jose Gaya's cross and showed Gavi's shirt to the stands.

Georgia's hopes of taking at least a draw away from Spain dissolved with Luka Lochoshvili's auto-goal. Spain have won 35 of their last 36 home matches in Euro qualification, losing only to Greece in the summer of 2003. But after Gavi's injury in a match that didn't decide anything, hardly anyone is happy about it.

Portugal knocked out 10 out of 10

Portugal vs Iceland: can the Portuguese win all qualifying matches for the first time in history? Iceland needed to get the better of them.

No problem: Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring with a great shot into the far corner after a heel pass from Bernardo Silva, and Ricardo Horta doubled it by putting the ball in the goal after a rebound. 2-0 was enough. There are 10 wins in 10 matches with a whopping 36:2 difference.

Group results: Portugal is first, with Slovakia going to the Euros together with it. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Luxembourg will definitely play in the knockout matches, Iceland has a chance at them. Liechtenstein has no claim to anything.